On Saturday, August 13th, Flower Pepper Gallery is pleased to present, Inside / Outside curated by Sara Barnes of Brown Paper Bag. Sara Barnes is a freelance writer and artist with an MFA in Illustration Practice as well as a freelance blogger and writer. The work she curates on her highly respected blog, Brown Paper Bag, celebrates the art of illustration in its many different forms. Her exceptional taste and ability to shine a light on both emerging and established artists makes Brown Paper Bag a go-to place to be inspired and connect with truly remarkable work. This exhibition is her site coming to life. It is a chance to be surrounded by the source of such thoughtful and meaningful curation that so many have come to love.

Participating artist Sara Jacoby creates very versatile work in terms of composition but every piece has an element of cleverness that is unique and charming. Often painting nature and its inhabitants, at times she will isolate a group of animals and highlight their particular personalities and sense of either community or solidarity. Other times, she depicts entire worlds and habitats with layers of translucent foliage and light. Her work carries a narrative that is immediately engaging and thoroughly charismatic. Similarly, Kim Sielbeck’s brightly colored illustrations easily catch your eye and hold your attention with her intricate collage-like style. Her ability to marry elements so seamlessly enables each piece to act as a visual thought process that carries with it our emotions and personal histories. A piece about summer might include bottles of sunscreen, headphones, foliage, and fish that immediately brings memories to mind that perfectly capture the essence of summertime. Her upbeat work is pleasing in every way and is every bit as quirky as it is meaningful.

Artist, Maggie Chiang paints stunning and imaginative landscapes that are as captivating as they are adept at capturing the essence of nature and our deeply innate connection with it. Her work is all at once beautifully loose and precise as it radiates a sense of exploration and discovery. It is as if we have stumbled upon a moment of peace and enlightenment and if we are merely still enough, we too might hear the water or birds sing some hidden secret.

Also inspired by nature, Sara K. Benning is an American Fiber artist that renders foliage and interior design in the most unique way. She creates meticulously hand-embroidered illustrations that are wonderfully detailed and brimming with pattern and color. She has seamlessly bridged two art forms that separately have their own rich history and tradition and from that she has created something new and stirring. They are depictions of home and our desire to live in harmony with nature by bringing the outdoors in. The threads themselves speak of this deep connection that is beautiful for being so simple and true. In a similar way, artist Betsy Walton builds connections with her abstract myriads of shapes and color that go far beyond what we can typically see. Her figures exist in worlds of geometric patterns and wild flora and fauna that dance and move before our eyes. There is something spiritual and mysterious in her beautiful brush-strokes that blur the line between what exists on the outside of our bodies and what echoes within them.

Inside / Outside is an exhibition that highlights the versatility of illustration and reveals to us the many ways we are linked with nature. Whether we go out to see the flowers or bring the flowers in, there is a desire to keep nature with us. These talented artists, thoughtfully brought together by Sara Barnes, explore this relationship and communicate what it means to live both inside and outside of ourselves.

The reception is open to the public and on view until September 13th, 2016. For purchase inquiries, or to request a VIP preview link, please email contact@flower-pepper.com

The curator Sara Barnes will be traveling to Pasadena from Baltimore for the Opening! Participating artists Kim Sielbeck, Betsy Walton and Anna Valdez will attending the Opening from other cities. Local artists Sarajo Frieden & Maggie Chiang will be at the Opening. Hope to see you at the Opening on Sat, Aug 13 from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm!